Wednesday, December 23, 2015

THE UNQUIET by Mikaela Everett \\ If you liked THE FIFTH WAVE

For most of her life, Lirael has been training to kill—and replace—a duplicate version of herself on a parallel Earth. She is the perfect sleeper-soldier. But she’s beginning to suspect she is not a good person.

The two Earths are identical in almost every way. Two copies of every city, every building, even every person. But the people from the second Earth know something their duplicates do not—two versions of the same thing cannot exist. They—and their whole planet—are slowly disappearing. Lira has been trained mercilessly since childhood to learn everything she can about her duplicate, to be a ruthless sleeper-assassin who kills that other Lirael and steps seamlessly into her life.

An intricate, literary stand-alone from an astonishing new voice, The Unquiet takes us deep inside the psyche of a strong teenage heroine struggling with what she has been raised to be and who she really is. Fans of eerily futuristic and beautifully crafted stories such as Never Let Me Go, Orphan Black, and Fringe will find themselves haunted by this unsettling debut.

If I were to imagine what a prequel to The Fifth Wave would be like, it is this book! The children of Earth 2 are taken while young to what they call The Cottage. Where they train for years to become assassins. Not every child makes it through training. When the time comes the ones that pass the test must kill their duplicate self on the other Earth and take their place.

Although the atmosphere of this story is rather bleak, gloomy and somewhat depressing. I really enjoyed it. The writing is well done and very memorable characters. They really go through a lot and at times its thought provoking. Something I always have in the habit of doing is putting myself mentally in a book and think about what I would do in the same situation. It really helps me understand the characters more. Lirael is a very devoted and critical (of herself) character. She developed a hard shell when young and it really shows in her "new life" on the other Earth. I really enjoyed that I was still surprised by some of her decisions, understanding her reasoning, but knowing I could never do the same.

There is some action throughout the story but I wouldn't call it a fast paced read. I enjoyed reading it slower that usual and really considering Lirael's relationships with the other characters. It is definitely a character driven novel and Lirael's character development is key and perfectly placed throughout the story. It really keeps you reading and engaged in the story.

I was expecting something completely different from what the story became. I was happily surprised and even though I thought there would be more action and horror, it never disappointed. A very subtly deep story that would have several more books in a series if they wanted it to be. For a stand alone it's well rounded and something I recommend you pick up.